Zell's Dilemma

Zell and Selphie were hanging out in the quad one nice Saturday morning. The weather is perfect, what with the cool breeze blowing and with the deep blue sky mirroring the rich color of the sea on the horizon decorated by the color of the lush forests and wild fields. But Zell's mood was nothing close to it. He was slumping on a metal rail, his head buried on his folded arms. While Selphie on the other hand was just chilling on a bench behind him, browsing on her phone and enjoying the silence of the place as most of the students were out in the town of Balamb for some fun and relaxation. There's a festival going on in the said town today anyway.

Irvine struts confidently into the scene, whistling on his favorite tune while clutching his precious shotgun. He stopped when he spotted his blond friend in a pitiful position.

"What's up with Zell?" He asked the brunette. Not even bothering to ask the man in question because he perfectly knew he will not stop ranting when he decides to start the engine of his mouth.

Selphie just glanced at him once before returning her attention to her phone. "He's been like that ever since he learned that the one poisoning us were his favorite hotdogs. He was really devastated because Quistis decided to pull off all the hotdogs from the cafeteria." She explained.

"Oh, okay." He coolly nodded. "Brother, c'mooon! It's not like you'll gonna die if you haven't eaten a single hotdog in a day." He consoled the poor guy while bumping him once on his shoulder with his fist.

Zell shook his head, he doesn't even have the strength to lift his face. "You don't understand, man..." He let out a long sigh and returned to being silent.

Irvine decided to not bother him any further. He settled in a nearby bench while examining his beloved weapon.

"Oh please, you're being like this just because of a hotdog? Grow up, Dinky!" Selphie scolded him.

"Don't worry. He's okay." Irvine grinned and winked before suddenly snapping his attention towards the empty staircase of the quad where he just came from like he suddenly saw someone.

"Oh! isn't that Claire Farron over there?" He asked while pointing towards the said area.

Zell immediately craned his neck upwards like a startled meerkat, rotating his head almost in a full circle just to find the mentioned woman.

Selphie and Irvine exchanged an amused look before bursting into a fit of laughter.

"I told you he's okay!" Irvine commented in between his hearty laugh, seal clapping at his friend's hilarious reaction.

"Dude!" Zell called him out annoyingly.

Selphie smacked him on his back. "You wish! She wasn't even here at school."

"Oh. Where is she then?" The blond fighter asked. Even more sad that his crush where nowhere within the area.

"She's in town with her team. She said they will be having their team building today." The brunette casually answered.

Both men nodded in unison.

"Well why are you guys here then? Isn't Zell going home to Mama Dincht? Aren't you gonna check the bazaar?" Irvine asked a barrage of questions. He was never really interested with such events.

The woman only shook her head. "Nah, I'm good. Not really in the mood to go outside. As for Zell, Mama Dincht isn't at home. She was in Fisherman's Horizon visiting a sick relative." She replied while watching some random videos on her phone.

The tall guy in a cowboy hat gasped in shock. "Whoa, that isn't very like you. I thought you were always like 'Hey guys there's a bazaar going on in town! Wanna go see some dresses?" He imitated her high pitched voice whenever she's excited.

Selphie shot him daggers with her stare before throwing the empty coffee cup she was drinking at earlier towards him. Irvine laughed as he dodged the object. His day is certainly complete just by teasing his old pals.

"Wait. Where's Squall anyway?" He finally asked after calming himself from laughing.

"He's at his room. He's probably planning to sleep all day." She replied. Her eyes still glued on her phone screen.

"And Quisty?" He asked again.

"I just dropped by her room earlier and she was trying some recipes she found on the internet." She responded again absentmindedly.

Irvine quickly shoot up from where he was sitting and started running like a crazy person. Selphie jolted from his sudden action, her eyes finally released from the curse of her phone.

"Why? Where are you going?!" She asked him in confusion.

"Quistis is cooking! What the hell is wrong with you?!" He shouted from the distance while he sprinted with his long legs.

She paused for a moment before she finally got what he meant. "That bastard!" She chased after him like a mad woman.

Zell who overheard what they just talked about also understood why both of them left so suddenly.

"Hey wait up!" He also started running towards Instructor Trepe's dorm, completely forgetting about his dilemma.

"Don't eat all of them! Save some for me!"